The tourist tax regulation, in the form of overnight tax, will come into effect 180 days after its publication in Diário da República (DR) on February 6.

In accordance with the document, the amount of €1.50 will be charged between May 31 and October 31, which is considered to be the high season, and €1 will be charged between November 1 and April 30, the low season.

The “overnight fee is applied to guests over the age of 16, per night, up to a maximum of five consecutive nights per person and per stay, in any type of accommodation in tourist resorts and local establishments, considered as such in the respective legal regimes, located in the municipality of Viana do Castelo.

Exempt from this tourist tax are guests who travel to Viana do Castelo by invitation of the city council, for health reasons, those with disabilities, with a disability equal to or greater than 60 percent, and those who temporarily are residing in Portugal for reasons of conflict, displaced from their countries of origin.

Payment of the tourist tax “is due at the beginning of the stay, in a single instalment, upon the obligation to issue a receipt invoice, in the name of the person, individually or collectively, who made the reservation, without subjected to VAT”.

Payment to the municipality for the tourist tax will be made through an electronic platform.

The Viana do Castelo Chamber will promote information and training sessions on the use of the electronic platform.

The municipality of Viana do Castelo justified the implementation of the tourist tax with “the significant increase in the number of local accommodations which, in 2014, was eight units, rising to 408 units in 2021”, and the increase in guests and overnight stays in the municipality.

“Statistics show significant growth in recent years, particularly with regard to the number of guests and overnight stays, from 2014 to 2019, there was an increase of 84 percent and 92 percent, respectively.

The municipality considers “it is important to strengthen investment in the area, in order to meet the needs and demands of the market, enabling the expansion, development and improvement of infrastructures, as well as the creation and development of services and support dedicated to tourism, to guarantee a mark of quality for the municipality, as a tourist destination”.

“Taking into account the need and desire to continue with this development in a sustainable way, and since the resources of local authorities are intended to meet local needs, aimed at their citizens, it is important to understand which resources can be resorted to allocating them in a balanced way”.